


The Boy and his Chocolate.

by attasaurus



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:43:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5282486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attasaurus/pseuds/attasaurus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone loves chocolate, no? Everyone except for Illya and he has a perfectly good reason why he hates it.</p><p>-</p><p>Comments are welcomed! :D</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Boy and his Chocolate.

Chocolate. It was something Illya wasn’t used to having. It was hard for him to get it in Russia, where his family name was forever tarnished by his father’s betrayal. The first time he had tasted chocolate, he cried. The warmth that had spread through him after taking a nibble off a bar reminded him of the times where the Kuryakin household was full of laughter,  full of warmth radiating from the fireplace. A time gone by. He had thrown the rest of the bar away after that, even though he knew how difficult it had been for him to finally get his hands on it. He vowed to never eat chocolate again.

Until a certain Chop Shop Girl brought it back into his life, that is.

It was right smack during the holiday season, when the snow blanketed the streets of Stockholm where they were stationed (Waverley had decided that Illya and Gaby’s cover would be as a newlywed couple this time, much to Illya’s delight). Illya had stepped into the safe house he was sharing with Gaby after a reconnaissance mission with Napoleon when his nose was assaulted by the smell of something _familiar._ He started sniffing and his nose soon brought him to the kitchen where Gaby was bustling around.

“Make yourself useful, Illya and help me bring the cake out from the oven.” Gaby had ordered him just as he stepped into the kitchen. 

“Why did you make cake?” He asked as he looked around for the oven mittens. “Is not anyone’s birthday.” 

“No, indeed.” The petite brunette brushed past him, bringing used bowls to the sink. “But since I was basically left alone in the apartment, I decided put my time to better use and make something edible for us. Now hurry, I don’t want the cake to burn!"

Illya’s nostrils flared as he took in the rich chocolatey scent of the cake when he pulled it out of the oven and set it on the counter top. “Why chocolate?"

Gaby was in the middle of washing up when he asked. She looked up from the bowl she was about to scrub. “Why chocolate? Because I found cocoa in the cupboard. That’s why the cake is chocolate. We’ll just have to wait for it to cool down then we can cover it with chocolate ganache and -"

“I’m tired. I will go clean up then go to bed.” Illya interrupted her, eyes never leaving the chocolate cake. He finally tore his eyes away and gave Gaby a small smile. “Maybe Cowboy will like a slice.” He went over to her and kissed her forehead. “ _S_ _pokushki_ , Gaby. I will see you in the morning.” And with that, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving a confused Gaby with the chocolate cake. 

When Illya went to bed, Gaby continued working on the cake and just like Illya suggested, she gave a slice to Napoleon who was curious as to why the Russian was already abed. “Shouldn’t he be playing chess first?” He mused. Gaby merely shrugged, “He said he was tired."

“Huh. Interesting.” Napoleon thanked her for the cake before he retired back to his apartment for the night. Gaby carefully packed the remaining cake and placed it in the fridge before she joined Illya on the bed, nestling herself against him. She took a moment but she was soon lulled to sleep by Illya’s even breathing.

\--

It was early in the morning that Illya woke up - he had fallen asleep thinking about the damned chocolate cake and the first thing that came into his mind as soon as he woke was the same blasted chocolate cake. Carefully peeling himself from the lightly snoring Gaby, he got off the bed and silently made his way to the kitchen and straight to the fridge. He took out the container holding the cake and set it on the counter, staring at it. He admired how smooth the ganache was, applauded the skill it probably took to make it so. He swallowed and covered the container. No, he had made a vow not to eat chocolate anymore.

“Mmm… what are you doing?” Came a groggy voice. Illya’s head whipped up to see Gaby standing at the kitchen door, rubbing her eyes. “Illya?"

“Nothing, _golubushka_. Was just admiring cake. Go back to bed. I will join you in a bit."

“Do you want a slice?” She asked, entering the kitchen.

“No! No, thank you. It is too early for cake. Go back to bed, Gabriella.” He turned, wanting to put the container back into the fridge when Gaby’s hand landed on his wrist.

“You only call me by my full name when you’re in distress.” She pointed out. “Come, I’ll get you slice, all right?"

Illya pulled his hand away and set the container back on the counter, “ _Nyet_ , thank you.” Always polite even when annoyed.

Gaby looked taken aback for a moment before she reached out, touching his arm. “ _Liebling_ , is everything all right?"

“Is fine.” He nodded. “Still tired."

“Is there something wrong with my cake? Don’t think I didn’t notice the look.” 

“No, it is not cak-“ Before Illya could finish his sentence, Gaby had hopped up on the counter, glaring at him.

“Then? You know I’m not going to bed until you tell me what's wrong with my cake."

“It's not your cake, Gaby. It's me.” Illya then went quiet. Gaby stayed put, silently willing him to go on. “You read my file, да?” Upon seeing the exasperated look on her face, he continued. “Of course, you have. Just making sure…"

 

“You’re stalling.” Gaby’s forehead creased into a frown. Something was clearly up if it was making Illya talk in circles. 

Illya took a moment but he then sighed. Gaby wasn’t going to move until he spat it out. “I took vow not to eat chocolate."

It took Gaby everything to not choke out in laughter but all thoughts of it died out when she saw the stony look on Illya’s face. “Oh dear God, you weren’t joking.” Her eyes trailed down to his hands and found his fingers ticking against his thighs. She reached out, grasping them in her tiny hands. “Illya, I changed my mind. If you don’t want to talk about it, then we don’t. I’ll go back to bed, all right? We’ll go sleep."

Illya snorted and shook his head, “You want to know, I will tell.” He swallowed, hesitating before he continued. “Back in Russia, I would always see children begging their parents for sweets and chocolates. I couldn’t do the same - father was in the gulag, mother was not earning enough. I help whenever I can, however I can.” A hand twitched when Gaby started stroking her thumb across his knuckles, her way of letting him know she was offering comfort.

“One day, I get some money from one ofmy mother’s... friends. I ran to the sweet shop. The man knew who I was and gave me a hard time. He said, son of disgraced man shouldn’t show his face around if he doesn’t want to get a kicking. I show him the money I have. Said, I want a chocolate bar.” Illya then scoffed. “I gave him too much for a chocolate bar but he didn’t care. He took all of my money and gave me the chocolate. One that was the size of your palm.” He gently grabbed hold of one of her hands and turned it over to reveal her palm. His hands weren’t shaking anymore. 

"I never told my mother about the chocolate. I hid in the room and unwrapped the foil. The smell was unlike anything I’ve ever smelt. I took a small bite and the warmth that immediately spread through me was…” He paused, trying to find the words before he shook his head. “I don’t know - there are no words in Russian, German or in English to describe it.” Gaby felt him tense before he pulled his hands away from her and clenched them into fists.

“I didn’t like it. Didn’t like the happiness the chocolate brought me. It reminded me of times before my father was taken away. All the laughter, the money… things we didn’t have anymore.” He let out a humourless laugh. “I threw the chocolate away. I spent so much on it and I threw it away. And then I told myself I’ll never have chocolate again.” Illya unclenched his fists and his gaze flicked to Gaby. “So that is why."

Gaby studied Illya’s face for a moment before she reached out and cupped his cheeks with her hands, making Illya jerk his head in surprise. “Oh, _Süßer_ …"Her thumbs stroked the skin, feeling the stubble scratch against them. “I’m sorry about what happened. If I could help change the past, I would but I can’t.” A thumb went to his lower lip, stroking it. “But what I can do is build a future with you. Create new memories to bury the ones in the past. Preferably with chocolate.” She added the last sentence to try make him smile. 

And smile he did, albeit a small one. “I cannot guarantee you it will work but I will try,  _liebling_.” He leaned forwards, pressing his lips against hers in a soft kiss, sealing his promise to try. When they broke apart a moment later, Gaby was grinning. “Does this mean you’ll try a slice now?"

A sigh, before Illya’s arms wrapped around her waist and kissed her soundly, “No. But I will take kisses, instead."

 

**Author's Note:**

>  _spokushki_ = good night  
>  _golubushka_ = little dove; my darling  
>  _nyet_ = no  
>  _liebling_ = darling  
>  _süßer_ = sweetheart


End file.
